


i'll crawl home to him

by sporadichearttcollector



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Everyone Is Gay, Miscommunication, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, andrew is smitten, background kevaaron, best friends neil and aaron, cheerleader aaron, cheerleader neil, completely unnecessary and entirely brief angst because neil is an oblivious dumbass, enjoy, i think thats it, neil threatens kevin with a spork, twinyards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 23:12:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18679225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sporadichearttcollector/pseuds/sporadichearttcollector
Summary: “Neither of you are subtle,” Aaron groans. “The whole school is waiting for you to bang already.”“I don’t want to bang him, Aaron,” Andrew snaps. “I want to take him on dates and hold his stupid hand and then bang him. Longterm. Monogamously. I want to be his boyfriend, I want him to be my boyfriend. I want to one day be Mr. Andrew Minyard-Dobson-Josten.”





	i'll crawl home to him

**Author's Note:**

> back at it again with my bullshit
> 
> was gonna post this monday but it wasn't done because it decided to be way longer than i planned
> 
> boring shitty class is boring and shitty part 5
> 
> for ollie, my main squeeze, babe youre the yee to my haw, your edits give me life, and i would crash and burn without you.

          Neil Josten meets Aaron Minyard on his first day of public school in the fifth grade, and knows almost immediately he has found a friend. Aaron makes snarky comments under his breath about teachers and idiots in class, speaks German, and is going to be a doctor one day. 

          He also has an eidetic memory, can fit exactly  _ eighteen _ tater tots in his mouth at once, and watches conspiracy theory documentaries at two in the morning. 

          Neil feels somewhat honored the first time Aaron invites him over, after knowing each other for six months, and they stay up all night munching on shitty popcorn and watching one of Aaron’s favorite documentaries.

          It’s six hours long, and Neil adores every minute of it.

          Aaron Minyard has been Neil Josten’s best friend for almost five years, and Neil wouldn’t trade him for anything.

          He swears it. 

          It is the third day of tenth grade for Neil, eleventh for Aaron, when Neil encounters a Problem. 

          Andrew Minyard-Dobson has always been Aaron’s reclusive twin who spent his early years in foster care before being adopted by Betsy Dobson and Phil Higgins at ten, who, upon finding out that Aaron existed and lived with his abusive, alcoholic mother, sued for custody and  _ won. _ Tilda Minyard died in a car crash of her own design when they were fourteen, and Aaron only shed a few tears. 

          Andrew plays goalie on the Exy team, or he is supposed to. From what Neil can tell, Andrew just stands in goal and daydreams, most of the time. There are moments, though, where Andrew comes  _ alive _ and closes down the goal. 

          Enter Neil’s problem. 

          Sometime around eighth or ninth grade, Aaron came out as homoromantic asexual, and Neil decided he ought to give the whole sexuality thing a few thoughts, at least to get all the girls in cheer off of his back. 

          He comes back with a tentative identity of asexual aromantic.

          Or so he thought. 

          On the third day of tenth grade, the Exy team plays against Beckenridge High, and one of the strikers says something horribly homophobic to Andrew, who responds by not letting in a single point the entire game. He even insists on playing the second half, despite the coach attempting to sub him out.

          Neil can’t take his eyes off of him.

          After the game, when the twins and Neil are eating dinner at Sweeties, Neil asks Andrew about Exy, and is unsurprised to find that Andrew gives exactly zero shits about Exy. He only plays because Kevin Day spent six months during Andrew’s freshman year hounding him about joining until he finally gave in just so he would shut him up. 

          (Neil already knew this, but he listens anyway.)

          Aaron’s face goes beat red when Andrew says Kevin’s name, and Neil almost chokes on his food. His interest in Andrew briefly put aside to tease Aaron about his apparent crush on one of the most absurdly tall people Neil has ever seen. 

          “How would you even kiss him?” Neil asks, clutching his stomach as he tries to catch his breath after laughing for almost five minutes straight. “He would have to bend in half just to reach you!” 

          “Shut up, Neil!” Aaron hisses, his face and neck growing progressively more red. 

          “No, really, how would that work?” Andrew asks, leaning forwards in interest. “You’d have to stand on a stool.”

          “I hate you both,” Aaron whines, hiding his face in his hands. It’s when Andrew meets Neil’s eyes, and his lips quirk up the tiniest bit, that Neil realizes he has a Problem. 

          Andrew is Aaron’s brother. His  _ twin _ brother. He is off limits, even if Neil has no clue what he’s feeling. Whatever weird sexuality/romantic orientation revelation he’s having, Andrew Minyard-Dobson must be left out of it because he is Aaron’s brother and therefore completely unavailable to Neil. 

          Neil catches himself daydreaming about Andrew the next day during English, and realizes he is in trouble. 

          Andrew tosses a pencil at him in math, and asks Neil after class why he seemed so distracted in what Andrew knows to be his favorite class. 

          Neil lies, bringing up an English paper that he has yet to write, on a book he hasn’t read, and nearly cries when Andrew offers to help him on it after school. 

          “You’re always at our house, anyway, I’m sure Aaron wouldn’t mind. He’ll probably be busy mooning over Day,” Andrew tells him, and Neil nods, hoping desperately that his cheeks aren’t nearly as red as he thinks they are. “Do you need a ride? Cheer and Exy get out at around the same time, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” 

          “A ride would be great, thanks, Andrew!” Neil blurts, and immediately wants to punch himself. 

_           Off-limits! Unavailable! Take your crisis elsewhere! _ Neil mentally chastises himself.  _ Aaron would  _ **_kill_ ** _ you.  _

          Neil’s traitorous eyes sneak a look at Andrew’s lips before he spins around and walks mechanically to lunch. 

          Allison, bless her, notices he has a Problem right away. 

          “Baby, what’s happening? You look like you want to jump off a cliff.” She says, running her hands through his hair to muss it up. All of the other cheer girls lean in, interest obvious on their faces. Neil glances around for Aaron, spots him sitting at the Exy table talking to Andrew, and turns to Allison with panic written all over him.

          “I do,” he says, hiding his face in his hands. “I think I’m having a crisis.”

          “What kind of crisis?” Allison asks, her pretty pink bubblegum snapping with a  _ Pop! _

          “You can’t tell Aaron,” He tries to make it a command, but it comes out pleading and pathetic.

          Allison presses a hand against her heart. “You’re telling me something not even your best friend ever knows? Please, my lips are  _ sealed.” _ She looks at all of the cheerleaders that are now pretending not to eavesdrop and makes a shooing motion. They all disappointedly file off to grab their food and give the pair some privacy. 

          “I think the whole aro ace thing might have been a bit…. Premature.” Neil confesses, sneaking another glance at Aaron and Andrew. 

          “Oh, god, Neil, honey please don’t tell me you think you’re interested in Aaron,” Allison says, eyes going wide. 

          “Hell no!” Neil gags, shaking his head vehemently. “I think I might be interested in Andrew.”

          “Oh,” Allison snorts, waving her hand. “You’re just now figuring that out?” 

          “ _ Excuse me _ ?” Neil’s voice is shrill, and loud, and can definitely be heard from the Exy table, so when Neil glances over he sees Aaron headed his way with a concerned look. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, he’s going to ask what’s wrong, Allison he can’t know, Andrew is his  _ brother _ !” 

          Allison raises one perfectly shaped eyebrow and shakes her head. “I can’t believe you.” 

          “I know, I know, I’m a horrible person, I don’t need reminded, now help me he’s coming over here!” Allison is still shaking her head when Aaron takes a seat next to Neil.

          “What the fuck was that?” Aaron asks, stealing one of Neil’s untouched fries. 

          “I told him about one of the girls saying his legs were bent during the trick yesterday, and that’s why they dropped him, and he is reasonably insulted.” Allison lies, flicking Neil a cool look. 

          “My legs weren’t bent, they’re just shit at their jobs, dumb freshmen,” Neil mutters, chewing on one of his nails. Aaron gives him a look that says he doesn’t believe any of that bullshit, but thankfully, doesn’t chase it further. 

          “Your legs were exactly as they were supposed to be,” Aaron agrees, “Freshmen should keep their mouths shut when they don’t know what they’re talking about.” 

          “So what were you and Andrew talking about?” Allison asks, leaning forwards and resting her chin in her hand. Neil shoots a glare at her, but she ignores it. 

          Aaron’s face goes redder than Neil has ever seen it.

          “Kevin Day asked me out,” Aaron whispers, then covers his mouth with a hand like he has revealed some huge secret. Neil mentally sets aside his own issues to focus on Aaron’s impending freak out.

          “That’s huge! Where are you guys going?” Neil asks, leaning their shoulders together. “Somewhere nice, or I’m gonna have to beat him up.” 

          “He wants to take me to dinner,” Aaron bites his lip, looking down. “Tonight.” Neil feels his previous dread creeping back in. Aaron out on a date while Neil tries to get in his brother’s pants, what a great idea. 

          “Well, I’m gonna have to go give him the shovel talk, then,” Neil says, standing up and grinning at the horrified look on Aaron’s face. “Be right back!”

          “Don’t you dare!” Aaron starts to stand up but is held back by a smirking Allison. 

          Kevin came out very publicly as bi last year, so Neil doesn’t bother pulling him away from his Exy friends. 

          Neil taps Jeremy's shoulder to get him to scoot over and takes a seat next to Kevin. "So, Day, I hear you want to take Aaron out?" Neil picks up on of the plastic sporks sitting on the table and twirls it around his fingers like a knife.

          Kevin's face is almost as red as Aaron's was, but he nods. 

          "He's only been pining over him since middle school," one of the other occupants of the table calls out, and they all snicker.

          "Let's make this quick, yeah?" Neil says and stabs the spork dangerously close to Kevin's hand. "You've heard all the rumors about my family and me. Most of them? Completely true. So I mean it when I say that if you hurt Aaron I will wipe the floor with you and make sure they never find your body. Understood?"

          "Shouldn't I be threatening him since I'm Aaron's brother?" Andrew's voice sounds from behind Neil, and he fights hard at the blush that creeps up his neck. 

          "I have better resources, sorry. But if you really want to, go ahead. Kev here needs to  _ really _ get the message."

          "Guys, please, I've been in love with Aaron since the eight grade, I'm not gonna hurt him I just wanna take him to dinner and maybe hold his hand and talk about aliens." Kevin splutters, waving his hands a bit. 

          "Hold his hand, huh?" Andrew asks, voice quiet and deadly. 

          Neil is definitely attracted to him.

          "Only if he wants me to!" Kevin squeaks. Neil grins at Andrew, who holds out a hand to help Neil up. 

          What's Neil gonna do? Not hold Andrew's hand for two seconds? Please, he doesn't have that much self control. Neil plops his hand into Andrew's and holds on while he gets up from the bench. 

          "Thank you," Neil gives him a cheeky smile, and completely forgets to let go of Andrew's hand because  _ Andrew Minyard-Dobson smiles back at him. _

          Neil needs water. So much water. He also needs to stop gawking at Andrew, because he’s been standing there holding his hand for far too long and not saying anything. 

          “Yeah, okay, bye!” Neil finally squeaks out, pulling his hand from Andrew’s and hurrying back towards Allison and Aaron. 

          “I can’t believe you did that,” Aaron grumbles, hands cupping the sides of his head. 

          “You and me both, Aaron. You and me both,” Neil collapses onto the bench and leans heavily on his best friend.

~

          Neil has been screaming inside for the last hour, and really it’s entirely his own fault. Andrew sits next to him, his knee touching Neil’s, and lists off all the facts he knows about  _ Lord of the Flies _ while Neil takes notes and tries to get this stupid essay done without drooling over the tiny slivers of skin he can see through the rips on Andrew’s jeans. 

          “Are you even listening?” Andrew asks, a hint of amusement tugging at his lips. 

          “No,” Neil admits, pushing his laptop away and grabbing for the bowl of fruit he had chopped up upon arrival. The Minyard-Dobson’s had started keeping fruit in abundance when Neil began hanging around almost daily. 

          Neil lives with his Uncle Stuart, but Stuart is always on business trips and usually just leaves Neil to his own devices. Bee has practically adopted him too, at this point. 

          Andrew rolls his eyes at Neil, as Neil shoves a couple pieces of strawberry into his mouth. 

          “Suck it, Minyard,” Neil mumbles. 

          “Minyard-Dobson,” Andrew corrects, nudging him gently with an elbow. 

          “It’s kind of a mouthful,” Neil says, tilting his head towards Andrew. “But you always insist people use both names.”

          “That’s not a question,” Andrew steals a blueberry. 

          “Why does someone who is so apathetic about everything else care so much that people use both of his last names?” Neil asks, turning fully towards Andrew. 

          “I didn’t have a last name until I got adopted,” Andrew says haltingly. “And after everything I’d been through, I was so  _ proud _ to finally have a name that was mine. No one was going to take it from me.” He pulls up a leg to rest his chin on his knee. “And then I met Aaron.”

          He fiddles with the rip in his jeans, and his voice has gone quieter, something reminiscent. Even if Neil hadn’t been hanging onto his every word, he would know to pay attention. “And I already had a family. Bee and Higgins, they are my parents, and they love me. They were the first ones to ever love me.” Neil watches the twitches in his face, the tiny shrug in the twitch in his nose, the hint of a smile on his mouth. It fades quickly. “But Aaron was still my brother, and he hung on so desperately to Tilda, even when she didn’t fight for him. I knew he needed a push, so I made a deal with him.”

          Neil licks his lips and eats another piece of strawberry. He blinks, and when Andrew doesn’t go on, he gives him a prod with his knee. “What was it?”

          “I would take his last name,” Andrew tells him, “and he would let Bee and Higgins adopt him, too. So I have two names, and they are both important. I don’t want anyone to forget that I’m Bee and Higgins’ kid. I worked like hell for that name, and I’m not ever letting it go. But Minyard is for Aaron, and I’m not ever letting him go either.” When he looks back to Neil, there’s a light in his eyes, stubborn and proud. “I don’t care if it’s more work for other people. I’m a Minyard and a Dobson, and I’m not giving either up.” 

          “You shouldn’t have to,” Neil purses his lips for a moment. “I had dozens of names, when I was on the run with my mom.” 

          Neil had explained his whole situation years ago, complete with his crazy father, mob involvement, and finally moving in with his Uncle after his father’s death and the subsequent downfall of the mob. 

          “They never meant anything to me, just something to be thrown away and replaced. My father used to say being a Wesninski meant something, meant we had to act a certain way and do certain things. I was so happy to shed that name for another. Being Neil Josten, though? That means something to me. It’s what I chose as my forever name. Neil Abram Josten is who I want to be till I die. So, I guess what I’m saying is, I get it. You shouldn’t compromise on that for anyone.” 

          “Why did you choose Neil Abram Josten?” 

          “I’ll tell you if you tell me why you chose Betsy and Higgins,” Neil offers, and feels butterflies as a wry smile tugs at Andrew’s lips. “Thirteen homes was a lot, I would think you were going for some kind of record.”

          “I asked first,” Andrew says, but starts talking anyway. “My second day here, Higgins took me shopping. Bought me whole new clothes, shoes, let me get whatever I wanted. Then, he took me to a hardware store, went to the lock aisle, and said ‘You can pick whatever lock you want, and when we get home I’ll put it on your door. I don’t care about the price, get what will make you feel safe.’” Andrew steals another blueberry. “So I picked the heaviest duty one there, almost three hundred dollars, and he didn’t even blink. Paid for it, and true to his word installed it as soon as we got home. I went in, locked my door, and for the first time in my life I really felt safe. I knew they were keepers, after that.” 

          “I was born Nathaniel Abram Wesninski,” Neil murmurs, stopping for a moment to chew on the side of his nail. “My father’s name was Nathan. I chose Neil because that was what was left when I removed Nathan. Abram was what my mother called me in private, and the name she used when she didn’t want people to know who my father was. It was all that she left me with when she died. Josten was just something random that I saw on the internet and liked.” Neil taps his fingers on his leg a few times. “My uncle still calls me Nathaniel, sometimes. Nathaniel Abram when he’s angry with me.” 

          “Well that’s dramatic,” Andrew teases, brushing their shoulders together. His face turns a bit serious, and he slowly reaches over to take Neil’s hand. He stops at the last second, eyes meeting Neil’s. “Yes or no?”

          “Yes,” Neil whispers, then flushes. Distantly, Neil thinks about how people describe having butterflies in their stomach during moments like this. They’re mistaken, he realizes. The things banging around in his abdomen are far larger, stronger, than butterflies. 

          It’s when Andrew is leaning in to kiss him that Neil understands that he must have a whole herd deer tromping around in there. 

          Neil is willing to swear to whatever higher powers that may exist that his heart actually  _ stops _ when Andrew’s lips touch his. Its light at first. Gentle. Neil wants more, and tilts his chin forwards to press closer to Andrew. He feels Andrew’s hands pull Neil’s into position on Andrew’s neck and in his hair, then slide slowly down to Neil’s waist. 

          “Yes, yes,” Neil says against Andrew’s lips, and gasps when Andrew’s tongue slides inside of Neil’s mouth. He’s never even kissed anyone before, and here he is making out with Andrew Minyard-Dobson. Neil feels Andrew’s hands tugging him forwards, and is climbing onto Andrew’s lap without thinking twice, his knees bracketing Andrew’s hips. Neil’s fingers pull at Andrew’s hair, and he moans quietly when Andrew’s hands squeeze his hips and slide back to cup Neil’s upper thighs, pulling him impossibly closer.

          “Neil,” Andrew groans, fingers flexing against Neil’s thighs, and it hits Neil like an Exy racquet to the fucking face that he is making out with  _ Andrew Minyard-Dobson _ . 

          He’s kissing his best friend’s brother. 

          Aaron’s brother.

_           Oh, fuck, Aaron, _ Neil’s thoughts shift from pleasured to panicked, and he scrambles backwards. Andrew lets him go immediately, a concerned look dawning on his face.

          “I can’t do this,” Neil says, eyes wide, and high tails it off the bed and out of the room, not even stopping to grab his bag, laptop, or phone. 

_           I’m a horrible friend,  _ Neil thinks hysterically as he sprints back to his house.  _ Aaron’s never going to forgive me. _ He hears Andrew calling after him but keeps running as fast as his legs will carry him, slamming into the house and barricading himself in his room. Stuart knocks quietly on the door, asking what was wrong, but accepts Neil’s shout of ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ and leaves him be. 

          Neil hears the doorbell ring, half an hour later, but doesn’t move from the mass of blankets he has piled himself beneath. 

          Neil realizes with increasing dread that his whole fucking life is about to fall apart because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.

~

          “I just don’t get it,” Andrew runs his hand through his hair for the millionth time that evening. “Everything was going great, and then all of a sudden he’s looking at me like I just murdered someone in front of him, says ‘I can’t do this,’ and sprints out of the fucking house. He didn’t even grab his phone or bag.” 

          “That’s so weird, he’s been mooning over you for years,” Aaron chews on his lip for a moment. “And why would he say ‘I can’t do this,’ what did he mean? Kissing you? Cause he’s wanted to do that literally forever.” 

          “Perhaps he meant the whole situation? Neil expressed before that he was aro ace, so maybe he wasn’t aware that he wanted to do those things before just then and was having a crisis? You know how Neil is,” Bee says from her spot on the loveseat. 

          The whole Minyard-Dobson Gossip Circle have gathered in their living room to discuss Andrew’s disastrous afternoon. 

          “There’s no way he didn’t know, Bee, he’s been making eyes for months.” Aaron shakes his head. “I mean he came over to ‘study’ knowing it would be just you two. And I saw his face after you asked, he knew exactly what ‘studying’ was going to be.” Aaron snorts quietly. “Plus, the aro ace thing was mainly so the girls in cheer would leave him the fuck alone.” 

          “Yeah, he said it himself, he doesn’t care about that stuff, he just wanted the girls to stop hitting on him all the time.” Andrew agrees, digging out a large spoonful of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream from his carton. Bee and Aaron mirror him, both holding their own tubs.

          “Aaron, you mentioned that he was acting odd at lunch, like there was something he had been talking to Allison about but not to you. Have you considered maybe Neil really is just figuring out these things and is worried about your reaction? He’s never kept anything from you before.”

          “That’s crazy though, he would just talk to me.” Aaron sighs loudly. “Yeah, he’s a dumbass, but he tells me  _ everything _ . Like, without hesitation.” 

          “No, no, that does kind of make sense. He said ‘I can’t do this,’ even though he was _ very _ enthusiastic about the whole shebang like two seconds beforehand.” Andrew waves his spoon around airily. “Maybe what he meant was, ‘I can’t do this  _ to Aaron _ .’” Bee nods thoughtfully. 

          “Why the fuck would he think I give a shit, though?” Aaron splutters. “I’ve never given any indication that I have an issue with him being in love with you, why would he be worried about me?” 

          “He’s a dumbass,” Andrew deadpans. “The he-had-no-clue-about-his-or-my-feelings theory is becoming more and more likely.”

          “Neither of you are subtle,” Aaron groans. “The whole school is waiting for you to bang already.”

          “I don’t want to bang him, Aaron,” Andrew snaps. “I want to take him on dates and hold his stupid hand and  _ then _ bang him. Longterm. Monogamously. I want to be his boyfriend, I want him to be  _ my _ boyfriend. I want to one day be Mr. Andrew Minyard-Dobson-Josten.” 

          “We get it, Drew, he’s your soulmate, we all know.” Aaron shakes his head. “Please tell me you aren’t really going to have three last names, that’s just overboard.”

          “Andrew values his names, if he wants to add Neil’s — with his consent, of course — then he should. I think Mr. Andrew Minyard-Dobson-Josten sounds lovely.” Bee says. “Please wait until you’re at least twenty-five, though.” Andrew and Aaron break out into identical laughter. 

          “I’m proposing when he’s eighteen, and we can have a long engagement. Two years, max. I’m gonna husband him so hard.” Andrew sighs, stretching out his legs onto Aaron’s lap. “With his permission, which he will enthusiastically give.” 

          “You’re so whipped,” Aaron cackles, resting his arms gently on Andrew’s shins, a hard won piece of trust between them. 

          “Says you,” Andrew rolls his eyes. “I could see how red your face was when Kevin asked you out, you’re just as bad.” 

          “I want to have his babies,” Aaron agrees, sucking on his spoon. The three of them snicker for a few minutes. “Twenty bucks says he dips for three days, then begs me to forgive him.”

          “Thirty says its five days, and he does it over text,” Andrew adds. 

          “Dishes for the next two weeks says he does it tomorrow, in person, and even gets on his knees for added sincerity.” Bee smiles that knowing little smile of hers. 

          “Please, you’re on. Neil could never confront a problem that soon.” Aaron shakes his head. Andrew nods along. 

          “The real question is, how long after he gets your forgiveness does he come fix things with me?” Andrew asks, scraping the sides of his decimated ice cream carton for any remnants. 

          “As soon as he figures out what’s going on, he’ll go running to you.” Aaron says. “He may not have realized it, but he’s wanted to hold your stupid hand since he was like thirteen. Neil will be over to ‘study’ as soon as he realizes he can, without ruining our friendship.” 

          “God, he’s such a dumbass.” Andrew sighs, tossing his empty carton and spoon onto the coffee table. “I can’t wait to date the fuck out of him.”

          “That reminds me,” Bee says, setting aside her ice cream far more gently. “You two are both entering relationships, so would you like me to get you condoms, or give you the money to buy them yourselves?”

          “Mom!” Andrew and Aaron groan in unison, standing and scrambling out of the room. 

          “Buy them, and put them in our bathroom!” Andrew yells a few minutes later from the door of his bedroom before slamming the door shut and locking it, then jumping into bed and hiding his embarrassed face in his pillows. 

~

          Uncle Stuart had left Neil’s bag outside his door, and Neil was thankful to find Andrew had packed his laptop and phone inside. Neil felt a bit guilty that Andrew had driven all the way over just to drop off his bag, but couldn’t bring himself to text his thanks. 

          He had much bigger things to deal with.

          Unlike all of Neil’s other problems, which he avoided like the plague, this was something he wanted to deal with immediately. So he spent the evening deciding what to do and say, then marches up to Aaron first thing the next day, and drops to his knees. 

          “I’m so sorry,” Neil starts. “Please don’t kill me. I swear it won’t happen again.” 

          “Well, shit.” Aaron murmurs, grabbing Neil’s hand to tug him up to his feet. “I owe Bee two weeks of dishes.” Neil arches an eyebrow, but continues on with his apology spiel.

          “It was w-”

          “Neil, Christ, stop!” Aaron waves his hands, even going as far to cover Neil’s mouth with one. “I know what happened, and you don’t need to apologize you precious idiot.”

          “What?” Neil asks, pulling Aaron’s hand away from his mouth. Aaron leads him over to a bench and sits, patting the place beside him. 

          “I know. Hell, I suggested it.”

          “ _ What?” _

          “Neil, you’ve been in love with Andrew since you were thirteen, I’ve known about it the whole time. I figured since I was going to be out with Kevin, and Bee and Higgins had work, it would be a great time for you and Andrew to finally get your shit together.” 

          “I’m not-” Neil starts, then stops. He thinks about it, and things suddenly start to make a whole lot of sense. “Oh my god.”

          “Yeah,”

          “I’m an idiot!” 

          “Yeah.” Aaron laughs, leaning into Neil, who cracks a smile.

          “So, wait, you don’t mind?”

          “Nah, of course not. I’ve been listening to Andrew wax lyrical about your stupid face for years,  _ and _ watching you make eyes at him. If I had an issue, I would have brought it up a long time ago.” 

          “You could have told me,” Neil scowls. 

          “I thought you knew!” Aaron laughs again. “Everyone knew, Neil. It’s common knowledge. We were all waiting for you two to finally get together, there are bets on it. Andrew’s been using up all of our gossip circle time to talk about how much he wants to date you.” 

          “Did you bet on it?” Neil gasps.

          “Of course, and I’m going to win a lot of money if you do it soon, so feel free to go make out with my brother.” Aaron grins. “Preferably in front of the whole school.” Neil sniffs. 

          “I think I will, actually.” Neil stands, dusting off his knees for a moment. “Wish me luck?”

          “Like you need it,” Aaron scoffs then kicks at his feet. “Go on, I have money to collect.” Neil leans down, smacking a wet kiss to Aaron’s forehead, then turns to run off.

          “You’re the best!” He shouts over his shoulder. 

          “I know!” Aaron shouts back.

          Neil sprints towards the gym, knowing morning Exy practice should be in session right then. He doesn’t even consider doing something other than bursting into practice and confessing his undying love for Andrew, because it is very clearly his only option.

          (Not really, but Neil has a thing for dramatics, so.)

          The doors make a whole fuck ton of noise when Neil slams through them, and all eyes of the Columbia High Exy Team are immediately on him, but he only has eyes for Andrew. 

          “Finally figured it out?” Andrew asks, leaning on his racquet, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. 

          “I can’t believe you and everyone else figured it out before I did,” Neil shakes his head. “Wait, yes I can, I’m a dumbass.” Neil jogs up to Andrew, ignoring Kevin’s yelling at him to get off the court. 

          “At least you’re self aware.” Andrew shrugs, giving Neil a very obvious once over. Neil feels his cheeks heat, but ignores it. “Got something to ask me?”

          “Yes or no?” Neil’s lips curve into a soft smile, and once Andrew has given his consent, he doesn’t hesitate to cup Andrew’s face with his hands and lean in, kissing him soundly on the mouth. 

          “Wanna come over and ‘study’ again, tonight?” Andrew asks, once they’ve separated a few minutes later. “Without any of the pretending to work on your essay?”

          “ _ Hell _ yes,” Neil beams, and leans in once more.

~

          Neil kisses Andrew in front of the entire school about an hour later, just because he feels like it, and he  _ can. _

          (They date through the rest of high school, get engaged when Neil is nineteen, married by twenty, and live happily ever after.)

          ((Andrew really does become Mr. Andrew Minyard-Dobson-Josten, like the smitten trainwreck he is.))

**Author's Note:**

> thanks @ gluupor, who was cool with me using the andrew getting adopted by bee and higgins idea, i loved it so much in their b99 au, tbh its my hc for any au's at this point.
> 
> i dont know how cheerleading works in the slightest so if that bit about neil getting dropped cause his legs were bent is inaccurate, sorry, i researched different words for ice cream container but not what gets flyers dropped.
> 
> and yeah everyones a little ooc but i think considering the differences in their situations i did alright.
> 
> also when neil says the aro ace thing was premature what he means is he is really demi, i just couldnt find a good place for him to explicitly say it. he's demi, and head over heels for andrew.
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://sporadichearttcollector.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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